U’khand: 15k tourists rescued after 16 hrs

Dehradun: More than 15,000 tourists and pilgrims, stranded for over 16 hours along the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, were rescued by Border Road Organisation (BRO) personnel on Thursday. They were stuck following a landslide caused by heavy rainfall.      A sizeable part of the highway along the Maneri Sainji village was washed away into the Bhagirathi river after over 15 hours of torrential downpour. A senior Uttarakhand disaster management official said Maneri Sainji is highly landslideprone and dangerous during rainfalls.      Most stranded people said they were stuck without food and water for more than 16 hours along the desolate stretch. "We were trapped since 10pm on Wednesday, with nobody turning up to help us. We feared the worst," said 67-year-old Anil Arora from Delhi.      There were no highway dhabas either and the situation turned nightmarish for those in need of medical attention, said another tourist. Maneri Sainji is 20km from Uttarkashi town.      The heavy rush of tourists and pilgrims there is owing to the ongoing Chardham Yatra.  Temporary ban on river rafting in Kullu  Manali: River rafting, river crossing, canoeing and all other water sports have been temporarily banned in Kullu due to rising water level in the Beas and Parbati rivers.      These rivers and their tributaries have been inundated following heavy rains in the past 72 hours. TNN